[BPS]∎ Libro Taroko Gorge Jacob Ritari 9781936071654 Books

Taroko Gorge Jacob Ritari 9781936071654 Books

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Taroko Gorge Jacob Ritari 9781936071654 Books

An American journalist, Peter, and his photographer, Josh, are on assignment in Taiwan. They decide to go visit Taroko Gorge in their free time. While wandering around the park, they encounter three female Japanese teenagers who are there as part of a school trip. Later, Peter and Josh discover that the girls have gone missing and get involved with tracking them down.

This story was part mystery, part character study. It's told from various narrators; Peter, a police officer, students, and their teacher.

Added to the girls' disappearance is an onslaught of rain that stops the search and keeps some of the searchers overnight at the park.

This was really a interesting story, well-written though not as much mystery as I had expected. It shows how people deal under pressure and some of the cultural differences between the Japanese and the Taiwanese. There is a lot of teenage drama, but the author kept it from being too YA.

I enjoyed this a lot, it was unexpected but good. I found the end to be a bit unsatisfying though, which kept this from being a great read for me.

my rating- 3.5/5


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Taroko Gorge Jacob Ritari 9781936071654 Books Reviews

Jacob Ritari's debut novel, "Taroko Gorge," offers a new take on the classic whodunit mystery. In the classic manner, Ritari has placed his murder victims and their likely killer in a self-contained setting, one from which no one is likely to have come or gone unseen. The setting is Taiwan's Taroko Gorge, a tourist attraction within one of that island-country's national parks. When three Japanese students (fifteen-year-old girls) who are in Taiwan on a school trip suddenly disappear, the number of suspects is rather limited - and the finger-pointing soon begins.

Among those at the park center to visit the spectacular gorge, are a middle-aged American reporter and his photographer, a young man who copes with the disappearance of the girls by getting drunk - and staying that way for most of the book. Other possible suspects include a busload of Japanese students, their teacher/trip guide, and employees of the park itself. When the local police, led by a tough old sergeant, arrive, however, it seems that the Americans draw most of his attention. When the girls are not found by the end of the day, the Americans, along with four of the students and their teacher, volunteer to remain in the park office overnight to help the police in the search planned for early the next morning.

Ritari tells his story through the first person accounts of several different narrators, including reporter Peter Neils, the police sergeant, the class student leader, and a student who sees one of the missing girls as her romantic rival for the potential affections of several of the boys in the class. As would be expected, based on how different the speakers are, their narratives are uneven in content and reliability. Each person knows something the others do not and most seem to have a legitimate reason for feeling guilty about the disappearance of the missing girls.

"Taroko Gorge" is long on atmosphere and character, especially when an unexpected storm drenches the park with a blinding rain that lasts for hours, again delaying the search for the girls. Jacob Ritari seems to know Japan and Taiwan well and, by getting inside the heads of his various characters, he reveals much about cultural differences and similarities. Interestingly, each group (Taiwanese, Japanese, and American) seems to struggle a bit with its own prejudices and inherent distrust of the other groups - but in a way, each group admires the others. Ritari does seem to struggle a bit when he tries to speak as a 15-year-old Japanese girl but, perhaps, this is more a reflection of the empty-headed character he has created than it is of the author's writing. He certainly fares much better with the voices of the Taiwanese police sergeant, the American reporter, and the young Japanese class leader.

This is an interesting first novel and Jacob Ritari has placed himself on my map as a young writer I will be watching for more from in the future.

Rated at 3.5
Jacob Ritari delves deep into human nature and focuses on emotional interaction during a crisis for his debut novel Taroko Gorge. While Taroko Gorge does revolve around the disappearance of three Japanese schoolgirls, I am loath to call this a detective novel as it focuses more on the characters feelings and interaction than on the search. I also found the use of telling the story through multiple first person views, through the eyes of several of the main characters, very effective in heightening the tension felt throughout the story.

The author's bio says he's lived in both Taiwan and Japan and it shows through these multiple points of view. Each character brings a unique cultural perspective to the narrative, a perspective that at times accentuates the difference between peoples and at other times shows how we are all really the same. The best examples of this are the various interplays between the Japanese students. The teen girls are obsessed with the teen boys and the teen boys are obsessed with the teen girls, yet neither side really knows how to deal with the other. At the same time, the teen obsession has a different character to it than if these were American teens.

The main characters have a lot of depth to them, so much so that we are introduced to some of the demons lurking in their past. This is what makes the psychological drama so believable we are given insights into the characters' motivations. Through these revelations, the reader will develop a lot of empathy for the people they meet.

If you are tired of the same recycled plots in most detective stories these days, give Taroko Gorge a try. If you enjoy exotic locales, this novel may leave a little to be desired as it focuses on people, not location. Highly suggested for fans of psychodrama and character driven stories. Four and a half stars out of five!
An enjoyable read because of the "voice" of the author. I love to read books that teach me something I didn't know, as well. I liked the way the characters revealed their "flaws"; or simply, the things they hated to live with about themselves. Which, after all, becomes what endears them to the ones who love them.
An American journalist, Peter, and his photographer, Josh, are on assignment in Taiwan. They decide to go visit Taroko Gorge in their free time. While wandering around the park, they encounter three female Japanese teenagers who are there as part of a school trip. Later, Peter and Josh discover that the girls have gone missing and get involved with tracking them down.

This story was part mystery, part character study. It's told from various narrators; Peter, a police officer, students, and their teacher.

Added to the girls' disappearance is an onslaught of rain that stops the search and keeps some of the searchers overnight at the park.

This was really a interesting story, well-written though not as much mystery as I had expected. It shows how people deal under pressure and some of the cultural differences between the Japanese and the Taiwanese. There is a lot of teenage drama, but the author kept it from being too YA.

I enjoyed this a lot, it was unexpected but good. I found the end to be a bit unsatisfying though, which kept this from being a great read for me.

my rating- 3.5/5